


Fancy Dress

by americanphancakes



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Flirting, Gender non-conformity, Halloween, Incorrect Pronouns, Love at First Sight, M/M, Masquerade Ball, feminization kind of but really it's just dan wearing a dress cuz he feels like it, well okay technically a crush at first sight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 11:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18810376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/americanphancakes/pseuds/americanphancakes
Summary: At a Halloween masquerade ball, Phil is taken by a beauty on the other side of the room. It's like a fairy tale. But what's reality going to be like?Originally written for the Halloween Phandom Fic Fest, but posted tonight for the Second Chances fest.





	Fancy Dress

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone!
> 
> I have so many WIPs right now but I still wanted to post something, so I took the opportunity to post this older fic that I never published. It felt so full of cliches at the time, and it STILL kind of feels unfinished, but rereading it earlier tonight I felt like there was a lot that was unique about it too. 
> 
> TW: I genuinely hope this fic doesn't offend anyone or bother anyone, but perhaps if feminization, incorrect pronouns (Phil refers to Dan as "they" until he gets a good look, and a very very brief mention of Chris & PJ has them referring to Dan as "she" because they don't know any better), or the idea of Phil being a true pan/bi person even when it comes to his attraction to one individual which may be weird for some readers, I'm not sure.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys like this. <3

Phil peered out into the crowd through the too-small eyeholes in his ornate mask, and, like the miraculous discovery of water in a desert, there they were. Phil froze. Suddenly, his need to breathe was utterly forgotten.

Phil had never seen anyone like them. Their features were delicate, but well-defined. They were reasonably tall -- as tall as he was if they were wearing flat shoes, but if they were wearing heels they were still easily 5’10” or 5’11” -- and broad-shouldered, but with slender limbs that tapered gracefully. With the frilly dress they were wearing, Phil couldn’t tell much else about their figure, but he didn’t really care. He was taken with the way this person carried themself. They had a very human and flawed sort of grace. They seemed confident in their lack of confidence; comfortable with their clear discomfort being at this ridiculous themed Halloween party.

Whatever -- this person was beautiful no matter how you sliced it.

He must have been staring a long time because Chris and PJ were spurring him on to “go talk to her already.” So, finally, while the mysterious beauty was alone next to the food table at the back of the room, he made an attempt.

He nervously walked up to them and was finally able to look more closely at their face. He was greeted with a soft jawline, a delicately curved nose, and deep brown eyes that made Phil feel warm, like coffee on an autumn morning. Seeing this person up close didn’t give Phil any definitive clues as to what pronouns they might use. He’d have to ask them later, though. For now, he found himself too jittery to say anything. Feigning confidence and swagger as best he could, he smiled gently at this incredibly beautiful person and held out his hand.

The brown-eyed beauty looked at Phil’s half-masked face in surprise and wonder. Their fingers slid slowly into Phil’s outstretched hand, and Phil smiled ever so slightly.

They gazed into Phil’s eyes nearly unblinking as the two of them danced together. Neither one said anything, both feeling like they’d been transported into a fairy tale or something.

Phil would misstep a bit from time to time, and the beauty would simply smile supportively. Eventually, they giggled. Phil loved the sound of their giggle. Phil loved everything about them that he’d seen so far. He hoped their personality matched how beautiful the rest of them was, because if it was anything even remotely approaching their external beauty, then this was the most perfect human being he’d ever met.

So he conquered his fear and finally spoke.

“I  _have_ to know your name,” Phil said, slowly shaking his head with disbelief that this person existed in the real world.

The beauty smiled. “Dan,” he answered in a voice that was clear and masculine but not incredibly deep. “And erm… He and him.  Just in case you were wondering my pronouns given my uh… choice of wardrobe,” he added with another lovely giggle. His accent was definitely more southern than Phil’s own.

“I was, actually,” Phil confessed, giving a giggle of his own.

“Oh my god, your laugh is so cute!”

“I was thinking the same about yours!”

Dan’s face relaxed a bit. “So… you’re not put off by this, then? A person like me being dressed like this?”

Phil shook his head. “Not at all. On the contrary, you’re… honestly…”

“Hm?” Dan raised his eyebrows and Phil just about fell apart at how cute he looked.

“You’re one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever seen in my life.”

Dan’s face was suddenly flooded with a rush of pink and he giggled and looked down. “Oh my god,” he said bashfully.

“I’m serious! I knew I had to come up and ask you to dance or I’d regret it forever. My friends were teasing me for staring.”

“Now I just feel bad. I didn’t even notice you until you walked up.”

“Don’t feel bad. I’m just in a suit with a mask over my eyes like nearly every other guy here. You… you chose to do your own thing, and that’s… that just makes you more gorgeous to me, really.”

Dan covered up the bottom half of his face while he blushed even harder.

“So…” Phil eventually said, trying to make smalltalk. “What sort of music do you like?”

“Actually I do like classical quite a bit,” Dan said, pointing up at the sky to signify the sound waves floating through the room around them. “I typically listen to whatever’s good though. Rock. Industrial. A lot of hip-hop. Pop, especially pop that’s unconventional. Weird shit, I guess. And sometimes K-pop, but don’t tell anyone.”

Phil smiled. “I guess I mostly like just pop music. And all that emo alternative rock stuff.”

“Hm,” Dan hummed encouragingly. “There’s probably some overlap between our tastes,”

“What about movies?” Phil asked.

“I just really like watching movies, to be honest. A good night in is basically Tumblr and Netflix for me. Honestly, I like whatever’s good.”

“I bet I can guess your favorite movie just based on what I know about you already.”

“Oh yeah? Try me.”

“Moulin Rouge.”

Dan’s mouth hung open. “How did you know that?”

“Look at you,” Phil chuckled. “You look like you belong in Paris a hundred years ago, and your music taste tells me you probably love that soundtrack.”

“I do indeed,” Dan said with a smile.

“Plus, my grandmother was psychic. My mum thinks I may have got the gift too.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Dan pressed his body close to Phil’s. “What am I thinking right now, then?” he asked, his voice a deep, low hum.

It was very, very obvious precisely what Dan was thinking right then, but Phil couldn’t resist having some fun. “You’re thinking…” Phil said, drawing out his answer, “that... while Litten is clearly the cutest, Popplio is cuter than Rowlet.”

Dan burst out laughing, starting it with a wheeze that made Phil laugh in turn. “Well, it looks like this ain’t gonna work out, mate - Rowlet is  _ clearly _ the cuter of the two.”

Phil smiled. The beauty knew Pokemon too!  _ My god, he’s perfect. _ “I can sure tell you what  _ I’m _ thinking.”

“What?”

“That I  _ need _ your number.” Phil stated this with a gravity Dan wasn’t expecting. He had to agree though - there was something profound about this meeting. Each of them could feel in the air that the other was going to be important. “If I don’t get it, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”

Dan nodded, never taking his eyes off Phil’s. “I know, right?” He reached into a pocket sewn into the sleeve of his dress to retrieve his phone and handed it to Phil; Phil fished his out of his pocket and handed it to Dan. They typed their numbers into each other’s phones and traded them back. Dan looked in Phil’s eyes and squinted a bit.

“Can I, um… can I see you?” Dan asked.

“Hm?” Phil replied. “Oh!” He’d forgotten about his mask. He removed the gaudy, feathered thing and let Dan see what he looked like underneath. Dan’s face shifted from a grinning, playful one to one of shock.

“Oh,” Dan exhaled.

Phil was suddenly afraid that Dan was disappointed, but Dan was quick to undo that.

“I didn’t think you could get  _ more _ handsome,” he said.

It was Phil’s turn to blush now.

They danced together for ages, stopping occasionally to eat and drink and talk. Phil’s friends eventually walked up to them to tell Phil they were leaving. He introduced them to Dan, confident that they’d all see each other again many many times in the future.

Eventually, the party was over. Phil walked Dan out.

“Oh fuck,” Dan said.

“Hm?”

“Well, I mean… Not to be a damsel in distress or anything, but I arrived at the party when it was still daylight, and… Dressed like this, in London, I’m feeling a bit, um. Vulnerable.” Dan froze nervously, but he didn’t want Phil to think he was being manipulative, so he just asked. “Would you mind taking me home? I hate to be a bother, but… yeah.”

Phil nodded kindly. “Of course,” he replied. He let Dan take him by the arm, and they began their walk. “Your nails are lovely, by the way.”

“Thank you.”

“Everything about you is lovely.”

Dan giggled again. “How are you still doing so good at flirting after hours of it?”

“Am I?”

“You are! I really didn’t expect to leave the party feeling like an actual princess, but you are laying it on thick.”

Phil snickered as though he heard a joke that Dan hadn’t deliberately told.

“What?”

“I can’t say it!” Phil said, laughing. “It’s so inappropriate and I’m trying really hard to be your handsome prince right now.”

“Oh god,” Dan said. “Now I have to know. I’m regretting asking, but I have to know.”

“It wasn’t like, fully formed in my head, but…” Phil nervously scrunched up his face. “Something about ‘that’s not the only thing that’s thick?’”

“I oughta smack you,” Dan replied. “That really is awful.”

“It is,” Phil said. “I apologize if I offended your delicate sensibilities.”

“Hardly. I’ve been swearing like a sailor all evening. You should hear me when I get mad at a video game. Actually, hey… do you want to?”

“What, hear you get mad at a video game?”

“Yeah. Instead of just dropping me off, come up and play something with me. I mean, I have to change out of this first, obviously, but I have, like… Mario Kart? Do you like Mario Kart?”

“Who doesn’t like Mario Kart?”

Dan smiled.

This was going to be a fun evening. And hopefully, the first of many.

**Author's Note:**

> @americanphancakes on tumblr


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